@thomasz - I am glad you fixed the overheating CPU. I am curious how the E5-2680's perform. If you get a chance to run Cinebench or Passmark, I would like to compare our results.
@MumbleFysh - Looks good so far! Hopefully your next post in this thread will be a running dual CPU computer!
@thomasz - As others have stated, looks very clean. I intend to do something similar once I get everything in my case.
Speaking of case, I have decided to make my own custom case. Everything I tried with a pre-made case just wasn't working out, so I have decided to make my own. More pictures and updates will follow.
I would like to thank
@thomasz for the help with the GPGPU riser. He told me which one he was using, so I went ahead and tried one in my setup. It is just barely too short to fit with 1U heat sinks. However, I plan to run dual Corsiar H60's, and the pumps are slightly shorter than the 1U heat sinks - so it should work. The best part about Dell risers for this board, is that they move the PCIe slot rearward, so that it lines up with the rest of the IO panel.
I bought this one on eBay. Unfortunately they do not have any more for sale. Dell Part number GKYGX. I also managed to find the C8220X Front GPGPU Riser part number. I believe it is a tad bit higher, as it is specifically made for the front GPGPU to set above the 1U heat sinks. I believe its part number is YK8R5/FVXWX.
Here are a few pictures of the GKYGX that I am running.
And below are pictures of it in action on my machine with a GTX 980Ti (which is no small graphics card).
Notice the PCIe riser is offset inward. The I/O panel and the GPU panel line up.
I wish the riser was just a hair taller. Below you can see how the 1U heat sinks don't quite work out.
Note that the whole graphics card is leaning with the rear of the card up higher. This is due to the cpu heat sink being just a little too tall.
In the inward PCIe slot, the GPU almost sits centered over the CPU.
If I only ran 8 sticks of ram instead of 16 (which will be the plan), I can gain a little room side to side as well. So once the Corsair H60's are installed, and half the ram is taken out, I will be well off.
Another thing worth mentioning is that the card sits directly above the SATA and mini SAS connectors. A 90 degree cable will have to be used in order to plug into the board.
And I will need to build supports to hold such a large card in place. For now, I have tested it with the card's backplate resting on the 1U heat sink. I plan to make custom brackets to hold the GPU in place, as well as to support the PCIe card in the slot.
For reference, here are links to the C8220X front GPGPU riser cards. You can see in the pictures that they are a bit taller.
Dell Riser Card YK8R5| Newport Computers | Newport Computers
Dell Riser Card FVXWX| Newport Computers | Newport Computers
Those are also the cheapest prices I have found around. If anyone purchases one, let me know how they fit and how the customer service was.